This is Monday evening, February 4, 1974, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kong.
Lord, Thou art not a God Who hides Thyself, but it is Thy good pleasure to reveal Thyself. So, Lord, as we turn to Thee, Thou dost turn to us. As we open our hearts to Thee, Thou dost remove our veil, that we may behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, and be transformed according to His image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee, for Thy mercy and Thy grace are unspeakable. Oh, we praise and thank Thee because Thou art good—Thou art so good. Oh, we worship Thee together.
We just commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thee for Thy own working in each of our lives, to the praise of Thy glory. In Thy precious name. Amen.
We have been fellowshipping together for the past two times on the book of Zechariah. So, will you please turn to Zechariah 4?
Some of the so-called minor prophets are very difficult to find, but Zechariah is easy to find because it is the next-to-last book of the Old Testament. Zechariah 4. We will read the whole chapter.
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;
and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.
For who hath despised the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Then answered I, and said unto Him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
And I answered the second time, and said unto Him, What are these two olive-branches which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves?
And He answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Then said He, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
For the recovery of the testimony of God and His own people, God raised up, as we have mentioned several times, two prophets to help the remnant who had returned from captivity in the rebuilding of the temple.
One was an old man, Haggai, and the other was a young man, Zechariah. The old man said very little, but whatever he said was weighty. Most important, it was the word of the Lord.
The young man was full of imagination, but his imagination was sanctified. Thus we find this young man seeing visions.
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of God came to this young man. The word was:
Return unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
God was calling His people to return to Him with a perfect heart. God was not satisfied just to see His people return to Jerusalem. God was not satisfied just to see His people putting their hands to the rebuilding of the temple. God looked into the heart, and He desired a perfect heart. This would satisfy Him more than anything else.
Brothers and sisters, it is right for us to be in Jerusalem. God’s people should not remain in Babylonian captivity. God’s people should answer that call to come out of Babylon—out of confusion, out of the complexity of this world—and to return to Jerusalem, to peace, to the purity that is in Christ, to the simplicity of Christ. This is where we should be. That is our position before God.
And no doubt God’s people should be involved in one thing. Many things, probably, we do not need to be involved in, and yet we are just so involved. But there is one thing in which we should be involved: the rebuilding of the house of God.
We are to be built together as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is something in which we all should be involved.
We may take a position, a right position. We may even be engaged in the right work. But what is the condition of our heart? Is our heart pure towards Him? Do we merely return to a position, or do we merely return to a work? Or do we return to a living God, to a Person? That is what God requires of His people.
Of course, after that, for a few months God did not speak through this young man. Probably it would be difficult for a young man not to speak. God’s word had come to him, and probably he expected that he could speak every day. But no.
The word of God came to him in the eighth month, and then God did not speak, I think, for a few months. Then, upon the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of Darius, the word of God came again.
There is a time to be silent, and there is a time to speak. When the word of God did not come, the prophets kept silent. So after a few months, the word of God came to him in one night. What a vivid night that was.
In that night, the word of God came to this young man in a succession of visions, altogether eight in number, one after another. In these eight visions, God made known through the prophet to His people His whole thought concerning recovery—not merely the recovery of the temple that Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant were building, but recovery to the fullest, at the very end of things.
These visions are consecutive. That is to say, one is added to another, and they lead us to the consummation of all God’s work of recovery.
We cannot go back over the first four visions, because if we do, we will take up our time. This evening we will stop with the fifth vision, and that is in Zechariah 4.
In Zechariah 3, we find the vision of Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, with Satan standing by him to resist him.
In the recovery of God’s testimony, one thing must be recovered, and that is the people. What would the house of God be if there were no people? Even after the temple was finished, if there were no priests to serve in the temple, there would be no sacrifice, no offering on the altar, no water in the laver, no light on the lampstand, no showbread on the golden table, and no incense burning on the altar of incense.
There would be no worship, no service, and no praise unto God. The whole house would be silent, quiet, dead. So, in the recovery of the house of God, there must be the recovery of the holy priesthood.
We are, as living stones, being built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. Of course, the priesthood is represented by the high priest. Joshua was the high priest at that time. In him was the representation of the priesthood, and the priesthood represented the spiritual condition of God’s people, because the high priest represented the people before God.
But here you find Satan standing by Joshua to resist him. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. How he accuses us before God, sometimes with ground, many times falsely. But unfortunately, in the case of Joshua, when Satan stood by him to resist him, there was ground.
The high priest should have been clothed with the priestly garments, which were for beauty and glory. But instead of that, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments before God. How could a priest serve God and represent God? He was not qualified.
Satan took hold of this opportunity to resist him. That is to say, “How dare you? How can you serve God? How dare you put your hand to the recovery of the temple and of the people? You are disqualified.”
Joshua could not answer, but there was One Who answered for him: the Angel of the Lord.
The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
In other words, our Lord Jesus is our Advocate. He not only intercedes for us before the Father, but He turns to His enemy and rebukes him on the basis of His victory on Calvary and on the basis of His finished work of redemption.
In the sovereign grace of the Lord, He took away the filthy garments and put upon Joshua rich apparel. In other words, He made him fit to serve.
Brothers and sisters, how often our garments are defiled. That is our condition. Of course, we mentioned this morning that there is one robe that we wear that can never be defiled. When we come to the Lord, the Father clothes us with the best robe, and that best robe is Christ our righteousness.
How can that be defiled? It is undefilable. Thank God, our righteousness before God never changes. We may change, but He never does. There is a position we have before God that is always there: Christ our righteousness.
But over and above that robe, there should be another robe, and that represents our conduct, our daily life on earth. Our daily life on earth should be the result of the working of the Holy Spirit as He works Christ into our very fiber, into our very life.
We should express His life. Our behavior should be the fruit of the Spirit, expressing Christ in all His beauty and glory. But oftentimes we walk in the flesh; we yield to the flesh. Defiled garments make us unfit to serve God.
But thank God, there is a precious fountain. In Revelation, you find these people standing before God in white robes. Why are they so white? Not because they never fall, but because their robes have been washed in the blood.
So, brothers and sisters, if only we turn to the Lamb, He will wash us again. And not only negatively will He wash us, but positively the Holy Spirit works in our lives, putting upon us a priestly garment, an effective robe. He has made us fit to serve. The priesthood must be recovered.
But in the recovery of the testimony of God, not only must the people be recovered; kingship must also be recovered.
You remember that in the book of Revelation we are told that we are washed by the precious blood, and God has made us kings and priests unto God. We are not only made priests unto God; we are also made kings unto God.
Joshua represented the people because he was a high priest, a Levite. Zerubbabel represented kingship because he was a descendant of King David.
Of course, at that time Zerubbabel, of the royal seed, was in such a low state that he was not independent. He was made a governor by the Persian emperor. The royal seed of David should sit on the throne of his father. There should be authority; there should be power. But here you find the royal seed of David made by a Gentile king to be governor of Judah.
Where was his power? Where was his authority? He had none. But thank God, God wanted to restore kingship to Zerubbabel. So the fifth vision is related especially to Zerubbabel. It is a restoration of kingship.
How might authority and power be recovered, that we may be kings unto God, that we may do things for God and accomplish God’s purpose?
It was King David who had the desire to build God a house. It was King Solomon who built the house. You need a king in order to build; you need authority; you need power. With spiritual power and authority, there can be the building of the house of God.
Since Zechariah had seen four visions, he went to sleep. Probably the visions were so great that he could not stand them.
You remember that one day our Lord Jesus took the disciples—Peter, John, and James—to the Mount of Transfiguration. There our Lord was transfigured, full of glory, and there were Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. At that important moment, how could anybody go to sleep?
Yet you find the three disciples at that critical moment all went to sleep. If you were there, you would try to open your eyes, just like a baby who does not want to sleep and tries to open his eyes, but you could not help it. These disciples just could not see the glory; it was just too much for the flesh.
Probably Zechariah was like that. After these four visions went by one after another, with explanations given to him, it overwhelmed him. It was just too much, and he went to sleep.
So the angel who interpreted everything woke him up, as if he had been asleep. The interpreting angel said, “Now, that is all right. What do you see?” There was more to come.
Dear brothers and sisters, thank God. If He allows you to see something of Him, remember: there is always more to come. Do not think that you have seen it all.
As young people, I know it: when the Lord begins to reveal something, we say, “Ah, I have got it all. There is nothing else. That is it.” How often we react that way. Dear brothers and sisters, do not limit God. There is more to come.
Zechariah was awakened from his sleep, and the angel that talked with him said, “What seest thou?” He said, “I see, and behold.”
Zechariah had spiritual insight. He said, “I see, and I behold.” Now, what did he see? He saw a golden lampstand, all of gold.
Remember, Zechariah came from a priestly family. Even though the temple was not yet finished and was only at the beginning of construction, as a priest—or one trained to be a priest—he must have been instructed in all the things that would be in the temple and all the services involved.
To see a candlestick, or a lampstand, all of gold was nothing strange to this young priest-to-be. In the holy place there would be the lampstand made of gold, and one duty of the priest was to light the lamps.
Of course, we know what a lampstand is. We know what light is. The lampstand is that which uplifts the light. The lampstand itself does not have light; it is a vessel for the light. He is the light.
If you read the Gospel according to John, you find that John the Baptist was not the true light. He was simply one who went before. But the true Light is the Lord Jesus, Who came into this world, and He enlightens every man.
The Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” The light is our Lord Himself. He is the life. But this light needs to be lifted up so that it may shine forth.
You do not put a light under a bushel. As you find in Matthew 5, if you light a lamp and put it under a bushel, it is covered. You do not light a lamp and put it under a couch, because all the light it can give is underneath the couch. You put a light on a lampstand that it may shine throughout the whole house.
Christ is the light, but you do not hide Christ under a bushel. A bushel is that which is used to measure wheat. In other words, the things of this world, the riches of this world, must not so occupy the heart that the light—that is, Christ—is restricted.
A couch is where you take your rest. Do not allow the ease, comfort, and luxury of this life to rob you of living Christ. Christ must be put upon the lampstand.
The lampstand, in the New Testament, speaks of the church. In the book of Revelation, you find the seven churches represented by seven lampstands before God—the seven local expressions of the church.
What is the meaning of the church? The meaning of the church is to uplift Christ. The church does not draw attention to herself; the church points people to Christ. The church is not the light. The church is the vessel for the light.
Christ is the light, and the church is a lampstand. Now, in order to uplift Christ, there must be a spiritual suitability. That is the reason why this lampstand is made of gold—nothing but gold—because gold speaks of the nature of God.
There is nothing of man in it; it is all of God. This lampstand is made wholly of gold. Everything speaks of God’s nature. It is God Himself in man.
It is beaten work. A talent of gold was beaten into the shape and form of a lampstand. In other words, God’s life and nature in us must be wrought upon by the Holy Spirit through the power of the cross. This beating work is to make us conform according to the heavenly pattern of God.
But here you find no description of the lampstand. Why? Because the people were familiar with it. There was no need for a description.
When Moses was commanded to build a lampstand, God gave him a pattern on the mountain and said, “See that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount.” In the book of Exodus, you find how this lampstand was to be built.
In the tabernacle of Moses, there was only one golden lampstand with seven branches. But when you come to the temple of Solomon, you find ten lampstands of gold—an increase in number.
When you come to Zechariah, you find the lampstand again. Basically it is the same thing, but there are variations to suit the need and purpose of that moment.
This lampstand was not described because it was not strange to Zechariah. It was a lampstand all of gold. But the prophet noticed something different from the lampstands he had known in the past.
At the top of the lampstand there was a bowl, a reservoir, a bowl to contain the oil. Now, I do not know whether I picture it correctly. Probably this lampstand had one shaft going up, with a bowl at the top of the shaft, and then seven lamps.
Spiritual principles are living. They meet the special need at that moment, but basically they remain the same.
The attention of the prophet was drawn to something different because that was the emphasis in this vision: the golden lampstand with a bowl for oil. He saw seven lamps and seven pipes leading from the bowl to the lamps.
In the original language, it is somewhat difficult to decide whether there were seven golden pipes leading from the bowl to the seven lamps, or seven pipes to each lamp—seven times seven, forty-nine pipes. In any case, there was a full supply of pipes.
He also saw two olive trees standing on the right and the left of the bowl. Now, brothers and sisters, you find that the whole emphasis is upon the supply.
It is taken for granted that the golden lampstand was built according to the heavenly pattern. But the emphasis now is this: How was the light supplied? How was the power supplied?
The bowl was for the storage of oil. The pipes were the channels for the oil. The lamps used the oil, and the olive trees supplied the oil to the bowl. The whole emphasis is upon the supply of oil. How was the light supplied? That was the whole point.
In other words, the emphasis is not on the structure; the emphasis is on the utility. We will explain that later.
When the young man saw this vision, he did not understand. He knew the golden lampstand; he was familiar with that. But when he saw the lampstand with a bowl, pipes, and olive trees, he did not understand the meaning.
So he asked the interpreting angel, “What is the meaning of this vision?” And the word of the Lord came and said, “This is the message.”
Before we go into the details of this vision, let us first get hold of the message, the word of the vision. That is most important. Why did God show Zechariah this vision? When you consider the vision as a whole, what message did God try to convey to His servant? What is the word of God?
The word of God was:
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Now, could you make any connection between the vision and this word? If you see a vision and do not receive a message, the vision has passed away. When God gives a vision, you should receive a message.
What is the message? The message is, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” This was directed especially to Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was leading the people in the building of the temple, but as he was building the temple, he must have been much inwardly burdened. The rebuilding of the temple was a gigantic task for this small number of people.
Not only was it a big job, but they were surrounded by enemies trying to frustrate them, hinder them, stop them, and resist them. And not only that, Zerubbabel had neither might nor power.
He was made governor of Judah by the Persian emperor. In other words, he had to look to the Persian emperor for favor. There was no influence, no power, no ability, no authority.
How could a person without might and without power finish this great job? More than that, the rebuilding of the temple was not merely an undertaking of construction. The rebuilding of the temple was to restore the testimony of God on this earth.
How could the light of God shine out to the nations, to the world? It was a job beyond human imagination. No doubt Zerubbabel must have been weighed down by the heaviness of the task before him.
To restore the name of God on earth, to restore the testimony of God on earth, with only a handful of people, limited resources, and great difficulties—no might, no power—how could it be done?
He must have been troubled by this question all the time: “It cannot be done. It cannot be done. It is beyond human capacity. It is impossible.”
Was he looking for might, looking for connections with the Persian court? Was he looking for power, human power upon which he could rely?
Not by might, nor by power.
Do not be disturbed because you do not have might. Do not be troubled because you have no power. And if you have might and power, you may not help; you may hinder.
God is not looking for might. God is not looking for power in you. If you do not have might, if you do not have power, do not cry over it as though you lack something. You provide God with the right opportunity.
How often our human might and human power interfere with God’s work. We think we can do it. We think we have the strength to do it. We think we have the wisdom, the cleverness, the energy, and the ability to do it. We go ahead to help God, but the more you help Him, the worse it becomes.
God is the God of the impossible. The power and might of the Holy Spirit are limitless. There is nothing too hard for God—nothing too hard for God.
God said, “Zerubbabel, whose hands have laid the foundation of the temple, shall finish it.” The day would come when the top stone would be put on it, and they would shout, “Grace, grace, unto it!”
Dear brothers and sisters, take the message. This is the message of the vision. How is the testimony of God to be maintained? How can the light shine? Where is the supply? How is it to be supplied? Who is the supplier? The answer is the Spirit of God—not man.
If only we trust God, if only we trust the Spirit of God, the weaker we are, the more might and power of the Spirit of God will be manifested. The mountain shall be leveled into a plain, and the house shall be finished.
Remember, it is grace. If it is the Spirit of God, it is grace, because it is not you. It is all God.
Furthermore, as God was trying to strengthen and encourage Zerubbabel to such an extent, the word of God came again and said:
For who hath despised the day of small things?
Thank God. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” saith the Lord. Zerubbabel had the Spirit of God, and that was all he needed for the building of the house.
Yet Zerubbabel could not help but see beforehand that, even if the house should be finished, it would be very small in comparison with the temple built by Solomon—almost nothing.
Why did God not do something big? Of course, God could. In the rebuilding of the temple, He could have enabled the remnant to build a temple even bigger than the temple built by Solomon. God could do that, but He did not.
The temple that came out of the hands of the remnant was a small one. Probably Zerubbabel thought, “What is it? Nothing—nothing.”
If it is that small, how can the testimony of God be restored? It must be something big, something majestic; then the whole world would be surprised. But this little thing—could God use that? Would it restore the testimony of God on earth?
So God said, “Do not despise the day of small things.”
There are times when God will do great things, but there are also times when God will only do small things. If it is the day of small things, do not despise small things.
It is not a matter of whether it is big or small in the sight of men. It is a matter of whether the eyes of God are upon it.
The word of God says:
For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Even if, in the eyes of men, these are small things, the seven eyes of God that run to and fro through the whole earth are focused upon the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.
Oh, brothers and sisters, are we living in the day of small things? Are you looking for something big?
The mustard seed, when it grows, should be a small herb. But unexpectedly it becomes a tree, and all the birds of the air come and roost in it. We say, “Praise the Lord, the church now has influence in this world. It has become a superpower.” But who are these birds? They are the evil powers of the air.
Brothers and sisters, God does not want us to be big. When Christ was on earth, He was called a Samaritan and a Nazarene. “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” He was despised, rejected, and crucified on the cross.
Do we expect to receive honor, glory, power, position, and dominion on this earth? This is the day of small things. Whenever anything gets bigger and bigger and bigger, be careful.
If we are faithful in little things, God will give us greater things in the kingdom. Do not despise the day of small things. The eyes of God are upon that, and that makes all the difference, brothers and sisters.
If the eyes of the Lord are upon it, no matter how small it is, do it as unto the Lord, and eternity will tell. If the eyes of the Lord are not upon it, no matter how big or tremendous it is, it will be burned by fire.
As you find in 1 Corinthians 3, some build with gold, silver, and precious stones. If you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, can you build something very big? You cannot. They are too costly.
But one day, at the judgment seat of Christ, when fire shall appear, the fire will only purify them and add more luster to them. But if you build with wood, hay, and stubble, you can build a big house with that. It does not cost too much. But when the fire shall appear, it will be burned, and you will suffer loss.
Do not despise the day of small things. The whole matter is whether the eyes of God are upon it.
Oh, brothers and sisters, success is a great temptation. But I often feel that success is not the thing that measures everything. It is God’s approval that measures everything.
Do we seek success, or do we seek God’s approval? You may have success, but if you let me choose, by the grace of God I will choose God’s approval.
So Zerubbabel was really encouraged. Do not be discouraged, dear brothers and sisters. We live in the day of small things. Let us do for the Lord and do it under His eyes. That is all that matters.
Now, this is the general message. Then, you know, this young man was rather curious. If you saw a vision like that—with a bowl at the top of the golden lampstand, all these pipes, and the two trees standing there—you would want to know more.
Even though he received the message, he wanted to know more. So he asked the angel who talked with him, “What are these two olive trees?” Before the angel could answer, he asked a second time. He was really curious.
He said, “What are these two olive branches beside the two golden spouts, which empty the golden oil out of themselves?” The olive trees were pouring out gold, and when it entered into the bowl, it became oil to go into the lamps. There was something strange about it.
So the angel explained to him and said, “These are the two sons of oil, that stand before the Lord of the whole earth.”
Brothers and sisters, the lampstand stands typically for Israel as a vessel of God to maintain the testimony of God. The two olive trees, historically, refer to Zerubbabel and Joshua.
Joshua and Zerubbabel were like the two olive trees. They were to supply the oil. In other words, they were in spiritual responsibility to supply the nation of Israel with the power and strength of the Holy Spirit, that the testimony of God might shine. That is the historical concept.
But this vision also represents the church. The church of God today is a lampstand all of gold. The church of God is destined to be that vessel, that instrument, to uplift Christ, that the world may see Christ and believe.
How is the oil supplied? The oil is the Holy Spirit. It is the power and might of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for Christ to shine forth. It is not by your might, nor by your power, but by the Spirit.
But how are the power and might of the Holy Spirit supplied to the church? By the two sons of oil—the olive trees.
In the old days, they used olives for oil—not only for cooking but also for anointing and for many other things. They used olive oil. But for olives to become oil, they have to be crushed and pressed, and then the oil flows out.
Brothers and sisters, go back to Revelation 2 and 3. You find seven golden lampstands before God. But unfortunately, aside from the lampstand representing the church in Philadelphia, where the light was shining fully, the other lights were not shining properly.
Some were flickering, some were smoking, some were dying. You find that the supply of oil was somehow hindered. The oil was going out, and because of that these lampstands could not give the testimony of Jesus to the world.
The Lord revealed Himself to these churches, but the churches could not respond to the call of God in the testimony. What was the measure that God took? In every letter, He called for overcomers.
Here the church is lacking in the supply of oil. Who will be the vessel to supply it? The overcomer. God is calling overcomers in the church.
When the church begins to degenerate and fails in its responsibility and testimony, God calls in the church for some who will respond to Him with a perfect heart. They are like the olive trees standing by.
In other words, they are those who are willing to be emptied, that they may be filled with the Spirit of God. They are the wise virgins—not only oil in the lamp, but also oil in the vessel.
Through the working of the Holy Spirit, their lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit. They become olive trees; they produce oil. But the olives need to be crushed in order that the oil may come forth.
This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;
pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;
always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.
Brothers and sisters, are we willing to be so dedicated in our lives to the Lord, to be so in union with Christ in His life and purpose? Are we willing to be emptied before Him, that we may be filled and controlled by the Spirit of God?
When you are filled with the Spirit, do you think you will have a good time? Do you think you will enjoy yourself? Yes, on the one hand there is great enjoyment; but on the other hand, there is the demand that you be willing to pour forth, that you be willing to be crushed.
Many experiences are of the higher kind, not because there is something in you that needs to be taken away because it is displeasing to the Lord, but because something is to be given out.
When you really enter into a deeper life with the Lord, you will find that God will lead you into situations where you will be really crushed—not because something is wrong, but because something is to be given out.
The two olive trees supply to the lampstand. Are you so selfish that you want to be spiritual and filled with the Holy Spirit only for yourself? You are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are spiritual, and you want to keep the Holy Spirit to yourself. You are still living for yourself.
Of course, you will have a living, and that is true. But if a person is really filled with the Holy Spirit and controlled by the Holy Spirit, he will have the Spirit of Christ. He will want to pour himself out for the sake of the church.
What comes out from the olive tree has to go through the golden tubes—not merely oil, but gold. When the Holy Spirit really controls your life, do you know what will come out? Gold. And gold is the life of Christ. The life of God is gold.
One who is filled with the Holy Spirit will pour forth Christ. The Holy Spirit does not want people to notice Him; He wants to glorify Christ. So when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, Christ comes forth.
But when this gold goes into the lamp, it becomes oil—the Holy Spirit again. In the experience of other people, it is light. It is the Holy Spirit Who convicts and convinces through that light.
Here you find these olive trees pouring out all the time. The more you pour out, the more you are filled. It is continuous. That is how the light is maintained.
Brothers and sisters, God is today calling for overcomers in the church. He that overcomes—he who is willing to give himself completely, to let the Holy Spirit control his life—will be able to have fellowship with Christ and be conformed to His death.
Then the life of Christ may pour into the church, and the church will be able to uplift Christ. The testimony of Jesus may be restored on this earth.
Now, this is the issue. This is the power. This is the authority. This is kingship. When you have kingship restored, you have the testimony established.
Lord, Thou dost encourage us. Thou dost show Thy secret: that it is not by might, nor by power, but by Thy Spirit.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast given to us Thy Spirit, and He is the power of God. Lord, teach us how to entrust ourselves to Thee and to Thy Spirit, that we may not look to men, but may cast ourselves upon Thee, that the work may be done in Thy power.
Lord, make us living, fruitful, and fit for Thy trust. As Paul said, may we fill up the afflictions of Christ for the church, Lord, that Thy church may fulfill her mission, that the testimony of Jesus may shine.
Lord, even though we may not see something spectacular, we want Thy approval. Oh, if Thine eyes are upon it, we are willing to be small, even nothing.
Lord, we want to follow Thee. We just commit ourselves to Thee. God, make us something for eternity. We pray that our lives on earth may not be wasted, but may be fully in Thy will and accomplish Thy purpose.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.